Policy on Budget Planning Process

I. PURPOSE

This document is intended to provide guidance on the budget planning process for New York Medical College hereinafter referred to as “NYMC.”

II. Policy

The intent of the budget process is to produce a financial plan of operations embodying an estimate of projected revenue and associated expenditures (both operating and capital) for the upcoming fiscal year. This financial plan is to be vetted by several parties through the budget planning process to produce a consolidated budget for NYMC. The policy of NYMC is that all Financial Managers (FM) will adhere to the stated Budget Office Process as outlined herein.

III. Scope

This policy applies to all Financial Managers in the academic programs and administrative departments of NYMC.

IV. Definitions

A. Projected Enrollment - the number of students of FTEs (per semester) estimated to enroll in each of the following academic programs: M.D., Speech Language Pathology, Ph.D., Physical Therapy or Accelerated BMS Program as well as the number of credit hours (per semester) projected for students enrolled in the graduate degree programs in the School of Health Sciences and Practice, the Graduate School of Basic Medical Sciences or the School of Medicine.

B. Budget Transfers/Modifications – changes by account to the allocations of funds granted by the Budget Committee 

C. TouroOne Budget Development Module (BDM) - a Banner Self-Service (SSB) feature which will enable the Financial Managers to have control over his/her own budget development.

D. Financial Manager – an individual (typically at a Department Head or Director Level or above) who is responsible for the financial management of a particular FOAP and/or Organization to ensure that it stays within the budgetary constraints. In terms of budget development, the Financial Manager is the person designated to have access to and be responsible for the receipt and submission of departmental budget information.

E. OTPS – Other Than Personnel Service

F. Banner – an Enterprise Resource Planning System that provides real-time budget, actual and purchasing data

G. Budget (Margin) Target – the projected net surplus/deficit of a school/program for the ensuing program year

H. Central Budget Office (CBO) – a division of Finance and Administration

I. FOAP – the Banner System’s Chart of Account structure which classified Asset, Liabilities, Net Assets, Revenues, Expenses and Transfers using an alphanumeric system called FOAP where

“F” = Fund (the source of funding such as hard dollars or unrestricted funds)

“O” = Organization (the department within the institution who is responsible for the fund)

“A” = Account (identifies the type of transaction, as in revenue or expenditure in a fund or organization such as office supplies)

“P” = Program (as a standardized purpose for which the transaction takes place)

J. Banner Self Service (BSS) – the self-service tool on the Banner Enterprise system which enables users to perform a variety of Personnel and Finance tasks

K. Fiscal Year – the twelve-month accounting period that runs from July 1st through June 30th, concurrently with NYMC’s academic year

V. Budget Planning Process Timetable

The approximate sequence of actions/events, which will lead to the production of an annual budget, is as follows:

KEY STEPS	EVENTS
1. Budget Requests for enrollment projections, tuition increases, scholarships and student fees are sent out to the Deans of each School. Additionally, Budget Requests are sent out to those FMs who can provide other key revenue components of the College.	The Budget Planning Process for the upcoming year will generally commence during the second quarter of the fiscal year and will culminate with final approvals prior to the new Fiscal Year with dissemination of approved budgets to Financial Managers as early in the new Fiscal Year as practicable.
2. Executive Budget Meetings with the Chancellor are held.
3. Planning for Capital Projects.
4. Budget (Margin) Targets are distributed.
5. Budget Development Module (BDM) is opened.
6. Creation of and submission of detailed Budget Proposal by FMs to the CBO.
7. Proposal review by the Chief Budget Officer and the Vice President and Chief Financial Officer including determination of whether benchmark has been met/achieved.
8. Chancellor’s update at the Finance and Investment Committee Budget Work Session.
9. Final Budget Proposal is submitted to both the Finance and Investment Committee and Board of Trustees for their review and approval.
10. Approved budget is loaded and disseminated.

VI. Procedures

A. Key Steps in the Budget Process (detailed)

1. Revenue Projections: The budget planning process for the upcoming year generally begins in the second quarter of the fiscal year when the Chief Budget Officer sends Budget Revenue Requests for enrollment projections, tuition rate increases, scholarships (including tuition remission) and student fees to the Deans of the School of Medicine, the School of Health Sciences and Practice, and the Graduate School of Basic Medical Sciences. Similar requests will also be sent to those FMs who provide projections on Unrestricted Contributions, Cafeteria Income, Investment Income, Grant Overhead, Faculty Academic Support Payments, Student Housing, Comparative Medicine Revenue, Space Rental, BioInc. Income, etc. (Refer to Exhibit 1 – Sample Budget Request (Revenue Projection) Memo). In order to streamline this process, they will be provided with a template or at a minimum a copy of last year’s approved detailed budget along with their assumptions. Please note that the actual templates will vary depending on the respective program’s needs.

The expected turnaround time for the initial revenue projection submissions is an average of two weeks, however, extensions are provided if needed when competing projects arise. The Chief Budget Officer asks for assumptions made in the preparation of the Revenue Projections. A check off list is maintained by the Central Budget Office (CBO). (Refer to Exhibit 2 – Budget Request Check Off List). Reminders are sent out and Departments are continually reminded if the deadline is nearing/missed. Upon receipt, the Chief Budget Officer reviews the submission with the list of assumptions to ensure the projections are realistic and the numbers tie out. Ultimately, these projections will be entered by the CBO into the BDM.

2. Executive Budget Meeting with the Chancellor: The Chancellor, the Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, and the Chief Budget Officer meet with Schools’ Deans, and Vice Presidents and Directors, when necessary. Each invitee is asked to present top-level academic and strategic budget plans for the upcoming fiscal year including bullet point supporting notes. These plans may include topics such as planned enrollment in existing programs, plans for new programs, key initiatives, staffing changes, and capital needs. For any new budget requests, a description of how these funds will be utilized to further the mission of the organization and/or achieve the goals set forth in the strategic plan will be required. The purpose of the top-level budget plans is to give the Chancellor a discussion-based step in the process to incorporate and consider each of the individual area’s needs to determine if they are within the overall goal or plan for the College.

3. Planning for Capital Projects: The Executive Director of Facilities Management & Capital Projects meets on a regular basis with the Schools’ Deans, Vice Presidents and, where applicable Directors to discuss the current and future capital plans. In preparation for the Capital Budget, a summary report of the current status of capital projects is prepared, along with a proposed list of projects for the next fiscal year and a request for additional long term proposed projects. The Executive Director of Facilities Management & Capital Projects confers with the Vice President and Chief Financial Officer to determine the availability of capital funds and funding sources for the upcoming year, and all projects are vetted and triaged. The list is discussed with the offices of the Deans, Vice Presidents and Directors, as needed, and then is submitted to the Chancellor. After further refinement, the final list is submitted to the Real Estate and Facilities Committee of the Board of Trustees for final vetting and approval. The Real Estate and Facilities Committee then forwards the total list, with any changes it makes, to the Finance and Investment Committee and the full Board of Trustees for final approval.

4. Budget (Margin) Targets are Calculated and Distributed: Once the executive budget meetings have concluded, the Chancellor, the Vice President and Chief Financial Officer and the Chief Budget Officer will meet to formulate a bottom line/target goal for the entire College and for each school and division within the College. These goals are based on the current year’s budget, current year’s actual activity, and plans for the upcoming year. The final Budget (Margin) Target becomes the benchmark against which their respective budget Proposal will be evaluated. Budget (Margin) Targets are distributed by the Vice President and Chief Financial Officer to the Schools’ Deans, and Vice Presidents and Directors as necessary, for them to use when creating their detailed budget proposals.

5. The Budget Development Module (BDM) is opened: The CBO opens the TouroOne BDM in the Banner ERP system. This event is announced with the Budget Development Launch Memo. (Refer to Exhibit 3 – Sample Budget Development Launch Memo). Included in this notification will be detailed instructions on how to access the BDM along with a listing of who has been granted access to this tool. They are also provided a link and details on how to access the Budget Development Training Manual. (Refer to Exhibit 4 – Budget Development Training Manual). This manual and a training video are also located on the Finance home page in SSB.

6. Creation and Submission of Detailed Budget Proposal by FMs: FMs (or their designees) are asked to enter and remit all Hard Dollar OTPS Operating budget data into the BDM. The CBO provides the FMs with last year’s approved budget as a starting point for the next fiscal year. They will then increase or decrease the levels as desired/needed by comparing their present budget to actuals in Banner Self Service. To ensure accuracy, the BDM automatically calculates and keeps track of all changes being entered by the FM. In addition, the FM will also need to provide a justification for any new funds being requested. Alternatively, Personnel Budget Requests will be handled outside of the BDM. Excel-based salary worksheets, verified by the CBO, will be distributed to FMs to assist with budgeting. FMs are asked to submit formal requests and justifications for any new personnel needs or base salary adjustments.

7. Budget Proposal Review: When all budget proposals have been submitted, the Chief Budget Officer, together with the Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, reviews all detailed budget proposals and supporting documentation for accuracy and to determine if benchmarks were met/achieved. If the target is not achieved, the Dean, Vice President or Director of a particular school or department will be expected to explain why such a target is unattainable and should be adjusted. They will provide the Chancellor with periodic updates throughout this review process identifying any challenges encountered along the way.

8. Chancellor’s Update at the Finance Budget Work Session: Concurrently, the Chancellor updates the Finance and Investment Committee of the Board of Trustees on new initiatives planned as well as any potential hurdles that need to be overcome for the next year. The Chancellor solicits feedback from the Committee to be used during the budget planning process to ensure that an acceptable margin target has been reached for the institution.

9. Full Board Approvals: Near the end of the then-current fiscal year, the final detailed budget proposal (operating and capital) for the upcoming fiscal year is presented to the Touro College and University System Budget Committee, the New York Medical College Finance and Investment Committee and, finally, the New York Medical College Board of Trustees for their respective approvals.

10. Approved Budget is Loaded and Disseminated: Finally, by the beginning of the new fiscal year, the approved budget is imported by the CBO into the Banner/TouroOne Finance Module for use. The Chief Budget Officer will send out the official departmental budgets to the FMs throughout the College as soon as practicable thereafter.

B. Budget Development Module (BDM)

The TouroOne Budget Development Module is a Banner Self-Service (SSB) feature which will enable FMs to have control over their own Budget Development in both a consistent and standardized manner. This is a user friendly tool that is very similar to the Budget Query feature in Banner SSB. As noted, a training guide and video have been developed to help FMs when using the tool. These materials are on the home page of the Finance SSB tab.

As previously referenced, when the FMs receive the Budget Launch Memo, they are provided with specific information (including the Chart, Budget ID and Budget Phase) and detailed steps they need to access the tool for the upcoming budget cycle.

Should there be a problem that requires Banner assistance, TouroOne Help Desk support should be contacted at help.touroone@touro.edu or 646-565-6552. User account may need to be created and service request logged. A technical expert will guide you through the functional concern.

C. Budget Modifications

During the year, a department or program may need to incur an expense for which there is inadequate provision in the expense line in its budget. In this case, the FM is permitted to transfer budget funds from another account in which there are excess budget funds, subject to certain limitations noted below. This is done by the preparation and processing of an online Budget Modification Form in the TouroOne Finance System. There is the option to make a single line or a multiple line transfer. Only whole dollar budget modifications are allowed.

VII. Policy Management

Responsible Officer: Chief Budget Officer
Responsible Executive: Vice President and Chief Financial Officer
Responsible Office: Central Budget Office

VIII. Effective Date:

This policy is effective as of January 1, 2020.